


Unlikely find

by MathConcepts



Series: Unlikely things, and what comes after [2]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy is so done, Being Walked In On, Booker is not having a good time, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, M/M, Rare Pair, light angst and humor, shifting pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:40:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MathConcepts/pseuds/MathConcepts
Summary: Betraying your family is one type of bad. Being discovered in bed with your handler by said family is another type of bad, the type that happens to be so, so much worse.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre/James Copley
Series: Unlikely things, and what comes after [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856023
Comments: 11
Kudos: 196





	Unlikely find

**Author's Note:**

> It was supposed to be a serious fic about the Guard discovering the Booker/Copley relationship, but my little gremlin mind said yeah, but what if they find them in bed together instead? So here we are.

"Why can't we just call him?" Nile protests, tracking Andy across the house as the (immensely) older woman zips around, gathering weapons.  
  
"He missed a rendezvous," Andy says shortly, tucking a handgun into her waistband and pulling on a long overcoat. "We need to make sure nothing is wrong." The unspoken comes to Nile clear enough, Copley betrayed them once, he can do it again. Still, it might just be an honest mistake. Copley hasn't been in the best of ways lately. Nile sees it with the keen eye of someone still young, the ex-agent looks more weary and jaded every time he comes around. The others, (or just Andy, Joe and Nicky once spent three days literally lost in each others eyes, so it's safe to say they are truly oblivious) are too weary and jaded themselves to notice the symptoms of such in others.  
  
"Come on." Andy orders, and Nile follows her out to the car. Joe and Nicky are already out there, packing guns and duffel bags of necessities into the trunk, and really, these people are _paranoid_.  
  
"Not paranoid, just prepared." Andy grunts, tossing her bagged axe through the back window and following it in. Nile grumbles as she buckles herself into the backseat by her, flipping Andy off when Andy glares at her. She just hopes Booker isn't around when they get to Copley's place, she knows enough (more than she wants) to know that Booker frequents his home, and he won't be doing himself any favors by getting caught there while Copley is under suspicion.  
  
  
  
  
Later, when they are routing through the rooms of Copley's house in search of Copley, who hasn't shown a hide or hair of himself since they arrived and broke in, (or forcefully invited themselves in, as Joe says) to Nile's dismay, it occurs to her that Booker might have been the reason why Copley missed the rendezvous. This hypothesis is accompanied by undisputable evidence to its validity, when both her and Nicky get an a scarring eyeful as he pushes Copley's bedroom door open with the barrel of his rifle.  
  
"Madre di dio, what the _fuck?_ " Nicky says, his stance going lax in shock.   
  
"Jesus Christ, guys!" Nile exclaims, throwing up an arm to shield her eyes and half turning away, biting down on her lip to keep her embarrassed laughter from bubbling out. Between the illicit thrill of hearing Nicky swear so brazenly, he almost never swears (in a language that Nile can understand, that is) to the looks of horror on Booker and Copley's faces, she's having a hard time of it.  
  
" _Nile!_ " Booker scrambles from under Copley, knocking him to the side in the process, only to freeze in terror as the rest of the team appears behind Nile and Nicky, summoned by their exclamations.  
  
"Fuck." Copley says, deadpan.  
  
  
Andy whistles between her teeth, low and sharp, while Joe is silent, his eyes skirting over the two men on the bed, assessing them. There's a bit of an internal struggle going on, Nile can see, he's unsure of whether or not to even react to the situation at hand, but his good nature and innate urge to heckle the shit out of Booker wins over, and he beams, tucking his gun under his arm to clasp his hands together, clearly on the verge of some punchline. Whatever he is about to say is forcefully overridden by both Copley and Booker making a grab for their scattered and abandoned clothing at the same time, all while fighting to stay under the protection of the bedsheets.  
  
Andy snorts, and Nile peeks between her fingers in time to catch her eye-roll. "I'll be in the kitchen." Andy says, and walks off, holstering her gun. Nile is ninety-nine percent certain she's off to loot any of the hard liquor available in the house. Nile respects her for it. The rest of them spend a collective moment watching the other two struggle into their clothes - Copley, who at least marginally has his shit together more than Booker, has managed to get a rumpled dress shirt and briefs on, but Booker...not so much.  
  
  
Nicky sighs, sounding so _tired_ to Nile, and shakes his head, catching Joe's elbow, pulling his lover back and away. "Lock the door next time," he says, lifting his voice to make sure he's heard. Then he's gone, down the hall after Andy, leaving only Nile behind.   
  
  
"We'll...uh, be in the kitchen...take your time," she stammers, and flees.   
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  
Booker groans, dragging his hands over his face as his slips from the bed. He doesn't dare look at Copley, who is calmly sorting out and buttoning up his shirt. Booker finds his wayward jeans, pulls them on, and doesn't waste time trying to find anything else before making a beeline straight for the bedroom window.   
  
  
There's fucked up situations, compromising situations, embarrassing situations, and then there's something like _this_ , which is way far and beyond the realm of simply embarrassing. To be caught in bed with someone was of no matter, it was the natural course of things. Statistically, it would happen at least once in someone's lifetime.  
  
  
To be caught in bed by one's estranged family with the man who was the closet thing any of them had to a handler and their most important liaison to the world was another. The team might view it as another betrayal, as a breaking of the sentence imposed on him. Copley was an important asset to them, the one thing keeping them safe from prying eyes and scheming hands. Would they drop him now because of Booker? Would Booker be responsible for more bad things befalling the team because of his inability to stop fucking up, and or, quite literally fucking the wrong people?   
  
  
Mortified and with nausea creeping up his throat, he undoes the window's latch and slides it open, swinging a foot over and out. A sigh sounds from somewhere behind him, there's the sound of footsteps and then an arm is snaking around his waist, drawing him back.  
  
  
" _Sebastien,_ " Copley reprimands softly.  
  
Booker swallows, his throat suddenly too tight. "I need to go."  
  
Copley chuckles, more of an attempt to defuse and set at ease, rather than an expression of any genuine amusement. "Why?" Booker gestures wordlessly, and then drops his face back into his hands, feeling like screaming.  
  
  
It's too much, _fuck_. he wants nothing more than to fling himself out of the window. The resulting (and temporary) death will afford him a few moments of blissful oblivion, if nothing else.  
  
  
"Sebastien." Copley says again, so soft it makes Booker want to cry on top of everything else, Jesus _fuck_. Copley takes his shoulders and spins him gently around, bringing them face-to-face. Booker, still solidly miserable, doesn't meet his eyes.  
  
"Hey, hey, it's fine," Copley soothes, touching Booker's cheek when he grimaces.  
  
"S' _not_ fine."  
  
Copley doesn't bother arguing, just rubs his shoulders until Booker can look at him, and then smiles. "They'll understand." he says, and when he says it like that, with that smile, Booker can almost believe him.   
  
Copley gives him a crisp shirt from his own closet and kiss, light but firm to the corner of his mouth, and shepherds him out of the bedroom with a hand on the small of his back. Having to speak to the team is unavoidable, but with Copley, it just might be tolerable.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
